Entering Thursday, Carmelo Anthony had played exactly 500 career games, and fans had seen it all in the Melo 500 — a bevy of buzzer beaters, improbable dunks, savvy passes and even, yes, some defense.

But never had he played a game like Thursday’s. In Denver’s 93-80 win against the Hornets, he grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds, two more than his previous standard.

“I was going for 20,” Anthony said with a straight face. “That was my goal. I knew we’d need it. Nene would have his hands full with Emeka Okafor, and our other ‘big’ would have their hands full with David West, so it was a big opportunity for me.”

Anthony logged what he likes to call a “power forward” effort — he scored 26 points while grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds. His previous high of 16 boards came against the Rockets on Dec. 20, 2007.

His 17th rebound was a gritty one — he missed a tough layup and snatched the ball over two defenders. His putback gave Denver an 85-72 lead with 4:20 left in the game.

The Nuggets improved to 47-22, a half-game ahead of Dallas for the No. 2 spot in the West. But Thursday’s win was a weird one.

With Denver up by as many as 27 points in the third quarter, there were Pepsi Center boos by the fourth. The Nuggets led by just nine, but held on to defeat the fatigued Hornets, who had played the previous night.

“I think what happens is, when you get a lead like that, you come out and try to put them away in the first 15 minutes,” said Denver guard Chauncey Billups, whose team had 16 assists in the first half and five in the second. “And when you’re not able to do that, and the other team makes a run and then you try to put them away the wrong way, punching them in the mouth as opposed to the right offense, getting everyone touches. That’s what we should have gone to.”

For the night, Denver shot just 40 percent, but was 38-for-95, while the Hornets had just 77 shots, making 33 (42.9 percent).

Nuggets guard J.R. Smith scored 13 points in the second quarter alone, including consecutive sky-walking dunks, and by halftime the Nuggets led 62-37

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill didn’t know what to do when he started hearing thousands of people in Arrowhead Stadium chanting his name, even as he stood all alone on the frozen turf waiting for the punt.